Putting the "netroots" in perspective -- NewDonkey nails it again

[dolstein]

The latest installment of NewDonkey's blog mentioned a CNN-USA Today-Gallup Poll which showed that only 3% of those surveyed read blogs every day, compared to 74% who had little to no familiarity with blog sites.

Here are the good parts:

<<The "netroots," significant as they are, simply are not synonymous with the "grassroots" of the Democratic Party, particularly if "grassroots" means the broad universe of elected officials, activists, and rank-and-file voters around the country. And in judging particular claims to speak for the "grassroots," we should remember this ain't horseshoes, where "closer" wins the contest. Even the largest and fastest-growing activist groupings are basically islands in a very large sea. That's why we have primary and general elections, as opposed to online referenda or early-nineteenth century style party caucuses to figure out what the true "grassroots" want, and that's why public opinion surveys, infernally misleading as they sometimes are, still matter.

I write this knowing that for some bloggers, "disrespecting the netroots" is the political Sin Against the Holy Ghost, the one truly unforgivable act. But the political potential of the netroots, and more importantly, the political prospects for the Democratic Party, require some perspective, and at least a bit of the humility which "netroots" advocates rightly demand from everybody else claiming to speak for Democrats. Nobody other than Democratic voters has the standing to decide who is and isn't a "real Democrat." While we can argue back and forth about who's right and who's wrong, and whose advice should be accepted or rejected, we'll never be a majority party again if we forget about the 74% of Americans who don't know a blog from a frog.>>

http://www.newdonkey.com/

[Enquiringkitty]

1. We must have enough going to get them worried. One blogger

was in vited into a press confrence today.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/07/w.h.blogger.ap/index.html

Monday, March 7, 2005 Posted: 6:15 PM EST (2315 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With an official credential hanging from his neck, a young man stepped into the White House briefing room Monday as perhaps the first blogger to cover the daily press briefings.

He found the surroundings to be dilapidated and cramped and concluded that his morning at the White House was "remarkably uneventful."

Garrett M. Graff, 23, writes Fishbowl D.C., a Web log about the news media in Washington. He decided to see if he could get a daily pass for a briefing after a recent controversy raised questions about White House access and who is a legitimate reporter.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. He's missing a point:

His survey numbers may stand up, but the netroots represents the truly activist core of the party, the people who, in the last election, got up and actually DID something to get the race as close as it was.

But what did you expect from the DLC, except to ignore that little fact? Shame on them.

[dolstein]

3. Delusions of grandeur

Seriously, if the netroots, in your words, "represents the truly activist core of the party," Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich would have finished first and second in the Iowa caucus.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

6. Balls.

It started so many balls rolling, it may be hard for the full effect to be properly measured.

I can understand why the DLC might take this time to denigrate The Netroots Effect, but why you, a netizen?

[welshTerrier2]

8. not just a netizen !!

a netizen quoting a blogger to make his point ...

[eridani]

9. So, who did all the fucking work in the general election?

Dean and Kucinich backed Kerry, and those who caucused for them in my state were far more in evidence doorbelling, phoning and fundraising (on a percentage basis) than people who caucused for Kerry. Though I did guilt-trip a couple in my precinct to get more active.

[sendero]

4. Yeah..

.... I suppose it was 3% of the Dem party that broke all fundraising records in 04.

There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

[welshTerrier2]

5. the net is an extremely important political environment

i have no reason to quibble with the points made in the BP except to say that the bottom line is that the net is a critically important political environment ... my involvement with DU, as one small anecdotal example, has made me much more politically active ... i believe Dean's fundraising and his meetups and the incredible influence garnered by MoveOn largely through its internet presence are forces to be reckoned with ...

the "consumer friendly" internet has only been around for around 15 years and it is growing very rapidly ... and today's technology will seem archaic in just a few years ... wait until we do less typing and hold video conferences online ... the potential for grassroots activism is huge ... arguing that only x% of voters read blogs really misses the point ... it's the trend that's important, not the absolute measurement at this point in time ... it would be like saying that only 1% (or whatever) of Americans watched Truman's inaugural address ... kind of a meaningless statistic if only 2% of Americans owned TV's at that time ... TV has obviously become a critically important component of political campaigns ...

one last point ... this doesn't mean to specifically suggest whether bloggers will ultimately be important or not ... the focus is on the internet as a campaign tool ... if the point being made in the BP is that the internet is overrated as a political force, i couldn't disagree more ...

source: http://weblog.infoworld.com/techwatch/archives/001161.html

As many as 75 million Americans used the internet during the 2004 elections to get news, discuss politics through e-mails or to participate directly in the political process by volunteering or contributing money, according to a study by Pew Internet & American Life Project and the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press.<skip>

"The last election was a breakout event for the internet," said Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project and one of the authors of a new report. "Every aspect of online politics grew quantitatively and many were wholly new - from the flood of online campaign contributions to rise of political bloggers, from Meetups to streaming JibJab."<skip>

"The (Pew) Project report confirms that the Internet has become the essential medium of American politics," Cornfield said in a commentary published by Pew Research. "It has done so gradually, like other media. Yet the Internet's distinctive role in politics has arisen because it can be used in multiple ways. Part deliberative town square, part raucous debating society, part research library, part instant news source, and part comedy club, the Internet connects voters to a wealth of content and commentary about politics."

[RogueTrooper]

7. You might want to tell that to Tom Daschel

and those Republican astroturf bloggers he had to contend with during his re-election. Actually, I think Ed Kilgore made some valid points in his post: There certainly, on occaision, a little to much hot air coming from blogistan. However, it is a fairly common for ascendant phenomas to practice inflationary rehetoric.

Full marks to newdonkey.com. I think it is one of the best progressive blogs around at the moment.